We Didn't Mean to Do It!
by Capricornacopia
Summary: Two girls who know more than they should change Torchwood completely. For better or worse.
1. Chapter 1

Title: We Didn't Mean to Punch a Hole in the Fabric of Space and Time! 1/?

Summery: Two girls who know more than they should change Torchwood completely. For better or worse.

Warnings: If you watch Torchwood, you can read this.

Spoilers: Most of the show, though will become more AU.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, we don't own Torchwood, although Fiona and Gwin are all ours. Also unfortunate.

A/N: This will also be posted on livejournal under daviesroyal. Enjoy!

"What are we doing in Cardiff again?" Gwin asked wearily. She already knew, but it was fun to wind Fiona up.

"For the nth time, Cardiff is both interesting and educational, not to mention the Hub of Doctor Who and Torchwood TV. Literally in Torchwood's case," Fiona said with mock exasperation. "Just imagine, you're walking along, minding your own business, and the Torchwood van races by with cameras close behind!" She grinned at Gwin, who just raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, and then they have spontaneous creativity and use us as weevil bait," Gwin deadpanned.

Fiona pouted. "Fine, ruin all my fun. Oh look, Roald Dahl Plass!" She took off, Gwin following, amusement plain on her face.

"You're how old again?" Gwin asked, laughing at the excited grin Fiona tossed over her shoulder.

"Oh, lookie, bookstore!" Fiona darted across the street, Gwin trying to keep up. _It's like babysitting a three-year-old on sugar,_ she thought fondly, rolling her eyes. Glancing up at the store front, she froze.

_Bad Wolf Books._

Oh, _crap._

"Fiona," Gwin called out, shoving through the door and stepping into the dimly lit room. Fiona's head popped out from and aisle to the left, brushing caramel hair back behind her ear. "Yeah?"

Gwin swallowed heavily. "We should go. Now." She peered into the store, noting the distinct lack of people. "Come on." She strode forward and yanked Fiona towards the door.

"What's wrong, Gwin?" Fiona stumbled slightly, now worried at her friend's behavior.

"We haven't got time, we have to get out of—" She broke off abruptly, staring around.

"Er… it wasn't night before," Fiona stated, throat closing in fear. Gwin glanced at her, and then headed towards the water tower. They were halfway across the Plass when they noticed somebody who really shouldn't be there.

"Is that…" Gwin trailed off in shock. The man who had risen out of the earth looked around, then stepped off the paving stone and headed straight for them.

"Yeah. He must be tracking us on his wrist strap. Or CCTV." Fiona chewed her lip nervously. This really shouldn't be happening.

Captain Jack Harkness glanced around at the readings on his Vortex Manipulator, and back up at the two girls in the middle of the Plass. The Rift alarms had gone off five minutes ago, tracing an anomaly to a store off the Bay. He hated it when the Rift dumped stuff in his front yard. Although, if this was what came through, he might have to reconsider.

"Hello ladies," he said, letting out a thousand-watt smile. The girls stared at him for a few seconds, before Gwin turned on Fiona.

"This is your fault!" she shouted. Fiona cringed.

"How was I supposed to know this would happen? As far as I know, the walls were closed! Several times!"

"Did you actually pay attention to the store? No! You just rushed in like usual! Need I remind you of Davros? Stars going out? Are you finally getting it?" Gwin was rapidly working her way up into a rant, which was never good.

"Ladies, maybe we should move this to a—" The girls continued to ignore Jack, cementing his belief that something was wrong. Since when did normal teenage girls ignore _him_?

"Hey!" They stopped talking and stared at him. "I think this discussion is better suited somewhere else, wouldn't you say?" He smiled tightly at the increasingly suspicious teenagers.

The girls looked at each other, and the dark haired one with blue-grey eyes shrugged. "Just don't make the universe implode," she told the other girl.

Green-eyes scowled at her, and turned to Jack. "I suppose we should introduce ourselves. I'm Fiona Whelan, and twspyn here is Gwin Byrne. Lead the way, Captain!"

Jack stiffened. "How did you know I'm Captain?"

Gwin raised an eyebrow. "The coat."

Jack flushed—and he didn't do that either, so obviously these girls weren't harmless—and spun on his heel, heading for the lift. He waited until both girls had joined him before pushing the button on his wrist strap that activated to lift. To his extreme disappointment, neither girl reacted the usual way: screaming and grabbing his arm. In fact, they didn't even seem surprised, just excited. His team came into view. They seemed disinterested to the outside eye, but Jack knew they had been listening to the conversation above them, and were wary of the newcomers. They stepped off the lift, the girls looking around excitedly. Gwin tilted her head back, before opening her mouth.

"I thought it would be bigger."

Everyone immediately looked to Jack, waiting for the inevitable suggestive comment. Fiona whirled around as Jack opened his mouth, jabbing a finger in his face.

"Don't. Even. _Think_. About it Jack Harkness!"

"Too late," he said cheerfully, only for Fiona to slap him across the face.

There was a beat of silence before Owen doubled over laughing. Tosh tried to stifle a snicker, and even Ianto hid a smirk. Gwin rolled her eyes at Fiona, while Jack's eyes narrowed thoughtfully.

"I never introduced myself, how do you know my name?" he asked slowly.

"We watch a lot of TV," Fiona answered, smirking.

Jack scowled. "Alright, that's it. Cells, now."

Fiona smirked. "Kinky, Jack."

Gwin face-palmed. "Fi, shut up and move."

"But—"

"No."

"But—"

"Shusht, no."

"But—"

"Stop it."

"Spoilsport."

"Yes, yes I am. Move it," Gwin said matter-of-factly, nudging Fiona ahead of her.

Jack followed closely, making sure not to let the two teenagers out of his sight. They reached the cell block, and the door next to their resident Weevil swung open. Both girls walked calmly into it, not at all fazed by Janet growling at them. Jack pressed the button to seal the door, and then stood in front of it with his arms folded, a scowl on his face.

"Alright," Jack started, gaze flickering from one girl to the other. "We got news of rift activity, I walk outside, and I see you two bickering with each other about whose fault it will be if the universe implodes. You know everything about us, and now I want some answers. Who are you really?"

"Well," Gwin started, "we were in Cardiff"

"In a parallel universe," Fiona continued.

"Where Torchwood has a TV show"

"And so does the Doctor"

"And it's all very wibbly wobbly, timey wimey, paradoxes and apocalypse and the universe imploding and general bad…stuff," Gwin concluded.

Jack raised an eyebrow. "And how do I know you're telling the truth?"

Fiona inhaled deeply. "Don't you have a lie detector? And I'd appreciate it if you didn't use your mind probe thingy. I don't feel like getting my head blown up today, thanks."

"You know you're only making yourselves more suspicious, right?" Jack asked skeptically.

Gwin ran her hand through her hair. "What will it take to convince you we don't want to harm anyone? Well, except Daleks and Cybermen and possibly the Master if he ever pops up."

"Don't forget the Slitheen, and the Sontarans, and any other evil alien hell-bent on conquering and/or destroying Earth and/or humans," Fiona added.

Jack rubbed a hand over his face. This wasn't making any sense, and he'd lived too long to take these girls at her word.

"Looks like we're going to have to bring out the big guns, Fi," Gwin said resignedly. Jack's head snapped up, but Gwin spoke over him.

"We walked into Bad Wolf Books in our universe and stepped out into yours. I'm not sure what that means, but I do know that the first time you died, it was on the Game Station in the year 200,100. The Daleks had escaped the Time War, and you were trying to buy the Doctor time to get the Delta Wave ready. You were the last man standing, and you were still fighting. You came back after they exterminated you, and you saw the TARDIS leaving you behind."

"Stop it," Jack said lowly, danger lacing his words.

They ignored him, Fiona picking up the story. "You first met Rose when you saved her during the London Blitz in 1941. She was hanging from a barrage balloon. You brought her to your ship, tied to the Big Ben."

"I said stop it!" Jack was becoming more and more terrified by their words. He hadn't told anybody these stories, but they both knew things about him no one should in this time—or any other.

Gwin spoke up again. "You thought she and the Doctor were Time Agents. You crashed a Chula ambulance and tried to con them with it. You were upset because the Agency took two years of your memory. There were nanogenes in that ship, and they found Jamie, a dead boy wearing a gas mask. He wanted his mummy, and the Doctor managed to save everyone. Except you. You took the bomb onto your ship so it could detonate safely. Then the TARDIS appeared, and they saved you after all."

"Just stop, you shouldn't know these things!" Jack was quickly panicking. He needed them to stop talking.

Fiona picked up again, a terrible sadness on her face. "You've been immortal ever since the Game Station. You came back here to find the Doctor. Torchwood hired you, and you took over on New Year of 2000, when Alex Hopkins murdered his team and killed himself in front of you. You have a living daughter, Melissa, who now goes by Alice Carter and a grandson, Stephen Carter. You had a brother, Grey, and when aliens attacked the Boeshane Peninsula, your father told you to take him and run. You let go of his hand, and you never found him. Your father died, and your mother blamed you—"

"STOP IT!" Jack shouted. He knew that the girls were telling the truth now, but he knew he couldn't let them continue. They gazed at him expectantly. Jack took a deep breath and fiddled with his wrist strap again, unlocking the door and turning on the surveillance again. He didn't want the team to be able to eavesdrop on the conversation.

"Right. Here's how it's going to work," Jack began, hands on his hips. "You two are going to either stay with me or in the main Hub if the team is here. No where else. If there's a call, you come with the team. If you do anything suspicious, it's back in the cell. Got it?"

Fiona and Gwin nodded, and Fiona tilted her head. "Does this mean we work at Torchwood now?"

Jack scowled. "You're teenagers. Not bloody likely."

"Hey," Gwin protested. "We aren't that young. 19 and 20! And Ianto was hired around that age!"

Jack stopped in the middle of the stairs. "Exactly how much do you know about us?"

Fiona grinned. "Spoilers!" she told him gleefully, before bouncing towards the main Hub, Gwin following with a grin.

Jack stared after them for a moment, before rolling his eyes and chasing after the girls. He caught up just as they reached the open workspace.

"So they're not a threat then?" Owen was the first to speak.

Gwin beat Jack to the answer. Again. They were going to have a talk about that. "As long as you don't ask questions about the future. And don't let Fi near sugar. Or weapons. Actually, I've got a list somewhere of things she's not allowed to go near. Ever."

Fiona scowled. "She's standing right here. And according to you, I'm not allowed to drive because the vehicle is classified as a weapon when I'm at the wheel. That's just mean."

"It's called public safety, Fi," Gwin said smugly. Fiona's eyes narrowed, but before she could retort, the Rift alarms sounded. Jack sighed. It seemed they would be taking a field trip sooner than he expected.

"Alright, team. Tosh, Owen, Ianto, take one SUV and any equipment you might need. Tosh, have we got a visual?" Jack asked.

"No. What ever came through, it's either invisible, small, or not in CCTV range," Tosh answered.

"Ok. We should be prepared for anything. You two are riding with me," he snapped at the girls.

Fiona grinned gleefully. "Jack Harkness!"

"I agree!" Gwin paused. "Oh. Awkward."

The team stared at them. "Why did you say Jack's name?" Ianto asked eventually.

Gwin turned to Fiona. "Back to ding?"

Fiona nodded, trying to contain a smile. "Oh yes!"

"What? Will one of you explain what is going on?" Owen's lack of patience was even more prominent in real life.

"But where's the fun in that?" Gwin asked cheekily.

Jack cleared his throat. "Can we get back to work now? Thanks."

He swept towards the garage, knowing that the others would be trailing behind. Jack practically threw himself into the driver's seat, barely waiting for Fi and Gwin to close their doors before tearing out of the underground parking lot.

Jack scowled as he looked in the mirror. Gwin had taken out both of their phones and was fiddling with their innards. Apparently reaching her goal, she snapped the covers back on and handed Fi's—Fiona, dammit—back to her. He had scowled more today than he had in the past six months. And now he was actually thinking about the girls he knew nothing about affectionately. He didn't like them so much he'd take them to bed, threat or not. Not that they weren't attractive, but his thoughts were preoccupied with someone else at the moment. Specifically, one Ianto Jones. The man was bloody gorgeous, and not a little mysterious.

Arriving at the dockyards, Jack stepped out of the SUV, seeing the other pull up. Checking his wrist strap, Jack headed towards the signal, stopping outside the repairing shed. Tosh slipped past him, pressing the Lock Shock to the door. 36 seconds later, they heard the lock click and the team (plus two) slipped into the shed.

"So what's the plan, Captain?" Gwin asked, inching towards Tosh as Owen was on her other side and she didn't like the look he was giving her.

"We have to find what ever came through the rift and assuming it's not alive, it should still be in this shed," Jack answered, looking around the small shed for anything that would stand out.

Fiona got murderous look on her face as Jack pressed by, using the opportunity to its fullest extent. "Harkness! Get your hand off my ass!"

Jack put on an innocent look that fooled no one. "What? It's a small shed!"

Fiona's eyes narrowed. "I'm from another universe, Harkness, not stupid. Try that again and I'll castrate you with rusty hedge clippers. Clear?"

Jack swallowed, terrified. "Yup. Perfectly."

Fiona smiled sweetly. "Good."

"Uh, guys? I think I may have found what we're looking for," Gwin called from the other side. She was standing over a crate, a worried look on her face. Torchwood gathered around her, Fiona just behind her. Seeing what had everyone transfixed, Fiona promptly turned and bashed her head against the wall.

"Shit. And I thought this was going so well."

TBC…


	2. Chapter 2

Lying on the ground behind the stacked crates was a silver object. It was roughly—no, exactly—the size and shape of an average human hand. Jack reached down and picked up the metal glove, handling it as if it were a Warp Star.

"Well, is it a medieval gauntlet or future alien tech?" Ianto asked, holding out a containment box. Jack carefully dropped the gauntlet in, turning at a loud crash. He blinked.

Fiona was banging her head against the wall, with Gwin watching exasperatedly.

"Where's Suzie?" she asked, turning to the team.

"Er…on vacation," Tosh managed, staring at Fiona.

"Dang it. I was hoping you'd say 'Who's Suzie?' Well, this complicates things," Gwin sighed.

Fiona turned. "Oh, you _think_?" she snarled.

Gwin raised an eyebrow. "There's no need to be rude," she told her, before turning to the team. "Look, this just got a lot more complicated, and no, we can't tell you why. We can tell you what that is though," she said disgustedly, pointing to the Glove.

"Trouble?" Fiona said waspishly. Gwin gave her a look, which Fiona ignored. "That Glove, in the wrong hands, can bring people back to life. And no, there are no right hands," Fiona added, cutting Jack off. "It basically draws on the user's life-force to transfer it to the victims, slowly driving the user mad. If you had any sense of self-preservation, you'd lock that thing away where no one can get to it. Believe me, I've seen the damage that thing could do," she finished, glancing fearfully at the Glove.

Jack paused. The girls had shown that they had advanced knowledge, but he didn't know if he could trust them. Then again, he hadn't seen them this serious since they arrived, not even when they were airing some of his darkest secrets. Frankly, he was surprised that they hadn't curled up in a corner. For two kids who had just lost their entire universe and most likely would never get back, they were taking their transition quite well. Snark seemed to be their defensive/default setting. Jack prided himself on reading people well. You had to, if you were a conman. It kept you alive. He believed these girls sincerely wanted to help them, and came to a decision that weighted comfortably in his mind.

"Okay. When we get back to the Hub, we're locking that thing in Secure Archives. No testing, no scans, nothing. Clear?" He ordered, looking around at his team. He could see that they weren't happy with him, and knew that they would be demanding an explanation from him as soon as Fiona and Gwin were out of earshot. Still, the general grumbles of agreement were fine for now. "Good. Let's get out of here," he tossed over his shoulder as he swept out of the small shed.

The team followed him out, and then split as they went back to the cars they arrived in. This time, Jack was considerate enough to wait for the girls before driving off like a lunatic. He glanced at them in the mirror, pondering how best to phrase his question.

"Will you just spit it out already? You're giving me a headache._ Ow_, Gwin!" Fiona complained, rubbing the back of her head, glaring. Gwin rolled her eyes.

"Your headache is from banging that thick skull against a metal wall. That's hardly Jack's fault," Gwin reminded her. Fiona sulked.

"Fine. Seeing as you to have information you're really not supposed to, I need to keep you close. Not in that way, I'm not a pedophile, thanks. However, what you can tell us would probably save a lot of lives, don't you think?" Jack was fumbling for the right words. Usually he didn't have any problem with recruiting, but he had no idea how to deal with these two.

"What are you saying?" Gwin asked, shooting a dark look at Fiona.

"How would you like a job?" Jack asked.

Fiona raised an eyebrow. "I thought you didn't want us to work for you."

Jack shrugged. "Desperate times…"

Gwin huffed. "Oh, you're a bloody riot Jack Harkness. Besides, I have to be in London soon. Timelines."

Jack nodded and looked at Fiona.

"Do I get a gun?" she checked.

Jack rolled his eyes. "We'll see."

Gwin groaned. "We're doomed."

The other two laughed at her as Jack pulled into the Hub's garage. They didn't let up on their teasing until they were in Jack's office.

"Okay, I'm assuming you'll be leaving soon?" Jack asked Gwin, who nodded. He turned to Fiona. "You've got the week off while you get settled into Cardiff. I'll have Ianto help you find a flat and get you through the paperwork while Tosh sets up your identity. Barring the end of the world or some other emergency, I'll see what skills you have so I can put you where you'll be the most help. You'll most likely be a field agent."

"Yes!" Fiona grinned. "That means I get a gun!"

"You'll get a gun if you can shoot one on target without getting trigger-happy," Jack reminded. Fiona pouted.

"You could probably help in the archives too. Ianto shouldn't have to do it all by himself," Gwin mused.

Jack laughed. "If you want to work in the archives, you're going to have to convince Ianto you're safe to be let loose in them. Any other questions?"

Fiona looked at Gwin. "Just one more thing." She leaned forward. "I understand that you need our knowledge, but some things cannot be changed. We can try our best but…" She shrugged.

Gwin picked up. "We don't know what we can get away with changing without the universe imploding. That's why I'm heading to London. I'm hoping I can find the expert."  
>"The Doctor," Jack realized. "You know where he is? I need to find him—"<p>

"Jack," Fiona said gently. "We know you need answers. But we do too."

"We don't know if you catching up to him is a fixed event. It might need to happen one way, and if we change that…"

"Yeah," Jack sighed. "I get it. Bad things happen."

Gwin smirked. "Waffen make bang bang go boom."

Both turned slowly to stare at her. "What? It's true!"

Jack looked to Fiona. She rolled her eyes. "Just nod, smile, and pretend you know how her brain works. If you try to figure it out your head will explode."

Gwin pouted. "You know, the same could be said for you."

Fiona grinned. "There's no 'could' about it."

Jack chuckled. "As long as you don't terrorize the rest of Torchwood or the world, or any undeserving aliens."

"Not even Owen?" Fi said hopefully.

"Okay, Owen's fair game," Jack relented.

Fiona grinned wildly at him.

Gwin snapped her fingers before grabbing Fi's arm and tugging her towards the door. "Sorry, Capt. We need to talk about wibbly-wobbly, timey-wimey things. Don't worry; we won't blow up the Rift."

Jack shook his head in fond amusement. Both girls were becoming something like daughters to him. Part of him was worried, seeing as they didn't know much about either of them, and they had only just met. However, being a conman required an ability to read people. He wasn't getting any malicious vibes off either of them, and he felt like going with his instinct on this one.

Meanwhile, the two girls headed down to the lower levels of the Hub after making sure Ianto was in the Tourist Office. They were dreading what they would find.

"I hope that just because most other things are the same, this universe at least differs slightly from the TV show," Fiona eventually broke the silence.

Gwin sighed. "Yeah, I know. But Fi, when have we ever been that lucky?"

Fi sighed as well. "Never."

They stopped in front of an old storage room. Glancing at each other, they both took a deep breath before Fi pushed open the door.

"Shit," Gwin said heavily, looking at the Cyber conversion unit in the center of the room.

TBC…


	3. Chapter 3

Title: We Didn't Mean to Punch a Hole in the Fabric of Space and Time! 3/?

Summery: Two girls who know more than they should change Torchwood completely. For better or worse.

Warnings: If you watch Torchwood, you can read this.

Spoilers: Most of the show, though will become more AU.

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, we don't own Torchwood, although Fiona and Gwin are all ours. Also unfortunate.

A/N: This will also be posted on under Capricornacopia. Enjoy!

The cyber conversion unit rested in the corner, hooked up to the half converted cyber woman. It was the only thing keeping what had once been Lisa Hallet alive, if you could call living in the basement of Torchwood Three being alive.

Gwen whistled lowly, "Talk about skeletons in the closet."

"Don't be cruel, we already know this turns out badly," Fiona said sadly.

Gwin sighed. "Yeah I know. Still, the least we can do is make sure no one else gets hurt."

"Besides Ianto, you mean?" Fiona snapped.

"Look, Fi, either we end her life as humanely as possible, or we let things play out, two innocents die, and she gets gunned down. Which would you prefer?" Gwin scowled, impatient.

Fiona looked at the woman trapped in the conversion unit. "I don't prefer either of them," she said softly. "But she shouldn't have to hurt anymore. C'mon."

With that, the two girls began moving around the room, Fiona to the generators powering the conversion unit, and Gwin to the tubes connecting the bags of pain meds to Lisa. They manipulated the machines to malfunction, the generators failing while the medicinal doses quadrupled.

"Ianto?" a voice called out weakly. Fiona and Gwin froze and stared at each other across the room. Fiona looked away first and responded.

"Sorry, no. I'm Fiona Whelan, and that's Gwin Byrne. Just so you know, we're euthanizing you."

Gwin glared at Fi. "Could you be any more callous?"

Fiona didn't look at her. "Yes. I'm being fairly nice considering she's a Cyberwoman. You almost done?"

Gwin huffed. "Just about. Look, we're trying to make this as painless and easy as possible, okay? This is better for everyone."

"How can you say that? Ianto's going to help me, make me better. We're not hurting anyone, I swear!" Lisa was starting to panic.

"Not yet. But if things play out, then you will end up killing two people and hurting Ianto. Is that what you want?" Gwin asked sympathetically.

Lisa's eyes filled with tears. "No, of course not! But how can you know what will happen?"

Fiona sighed. "You work for Torchwood. How do you think we know?"

Lisa closed her eyes. "I don't want to believe you. But I think you're right. I…I can feel the Cyber influence. It…It's getting stronger. Will this stop it?" She looked desperately from one girl to the other.

"We think so. But we don't know if this will activate the Cyber implant. We're shutting off the generators and overdosing your body. If something goes wrong, I've got this." Fiona held up the gun she had palmed off Suzie's desk.

"You so shouldn't have that," Gwin scolded.

Fiona grinned. "I know." The smile faded as she looked back at Lisa. "You okay with this?"

Lisa grimaced. "Don't really have a choice, do I? Just…" She swallowed convulsively. "Can you…Can you make sure Ianto doesn't find me like this?"

A tear leaked from Gwin's eye. "Just because we're here to kill you doesn't make us cruel, Lisa. We'll be honest with Ianto."

Lisa nodded. "Thank you."

Fiona and Gwin locked gazes as they simultaneously flicked the switches. Lisa's breathing sped up before her eyes fluttered closed and her body relaxed. The girls waited fifteen minutes before stepping outside the room, watching to make sure the Cyberwoman wasn't faking. Another quarter of an hour of nothing let them relax.

"Are we really going to tell Ianto?" Fiona asked softly.

Gwin nodded. "We have to, but don't you think Jack deserves to know?"

Fiona flinched. "He might over-react."

"And he won't if he finds out we were hiding something like this?" Gwin replied sharply.

"You're right." Fiona paused. "You can tell him."  
>Gwin stabbed a finger in Fiona's face, causing her to go cross-eyed. "Oh, no you don't. If I have to tell Jack, so do you. Now come on." She spun on her heel and stalked out of the room, dragging Fiona behind her. They arrived in the main Hub as Owen and Tosh were leaving. Jack was doing… something in his office, and Ianto was picking up the left over files from the research on the Glove. He would be heading down to the Archives in a moment.<p>

Fiona leaned over. "Do you reckon we should just tell them together, or show them, or something that doesn't require us to be shot?" She whispered in Gwin's ear.

Gwin rolled her eyes. "Stop being such a wimp. We'll tell Jack first, after we make him promise not to react badly, and then we'll talk to Ianto. Deal?"

Fiona sighed. "I guess. Alright, let's get this over with." She trudged up the stairs to Jack's office, Gwin on her heels. She knocked on the door.

"Hey, Jack, do you have a minute? We need to talk to you. It's important." Fiona nervously stepped into the room, Gwin following. Jack noticed both stayed in easy access of the exit.

"Sure. Have a seat," he said easily, gesturing to the chairs opposite his desk. The girls shared a nervous glance. Gwin took a deep breath before speaking.

"Look, Jack, before we say anything we need you to promise you won't react too badly, okay? Just hear us out, the full story, before you make any rash decisions."

Jack frowned. "You aren't exactly making me feel better, you know. What's all this about?"

Fiona glanced at Gwin before swallowing and launching into the explanation. "Ianto was keeping a Cyberwoman in the basement of the Hub."

Jack froze for a second, before white-hot fury jolted through him. He kept his face blank as he slowly stood. "Where are they?"

Both girls looked panicked. "Jack, notice the use of the past tense. The Cyberwoman has been taken care of, and Ianto deserves the chance to explain his motives," Gwin said hastily.

"Ianto deserves a bullet to the head for this," Jack fumed. "Hang on, what do you mean, taken care of?"

"This was the best course of action. If events had been allowed to play out, innocent people would have died. Just…hear him out? Please?" Fiona begged him. She understood why Ianto had done it, and she didn't want him to suffer anymore than necessary.

"How did you know about this? Did you help him?" Jack asked, still furious. Gwin looked shocked, but Fiona just looked sad.

"No, we didn't. We're trying to help now, Jack. Remember what we said about knowing things we shouldn't? This might be a turning point, but as the universe hasn't ended, I think we can assume it's not fixed. Now, you need to calm down, because you're pissed off enough to kill him, and that would be very bad. Also, he will probably have found her by now, and I, for one, don't want him to do anything stupid. Coming?" Fiona stood abruptly and stalked out of the room. Gwin threw Jack an apologetic look and followed. Jack briefly entertained the option of throwing the girls in the cells and going to deal with Ianto himself, before rolling his eyes and jogging after them. He wasn't exactly keen to let people wander around his base right now.

He caught up with Gwin fairly quickly, but Fiona had disappeared from view. They ended up deep in the bowels of the Hub, where no one had gone since the 1860s. The lights rarely worked, and when they did, the bulbs were few and far apart. Just ahead, blue light spilled out of an open door, and sobs and soft words drifted out of it.

Ianto was crumpled next to the conversion unit, clinging to the young woman strapped within. Fiona knelt next to him, hand on his shoulder and murmuring in another language. Gwin stepped into the room and went to disconnect the machines. Jack hovered in the doorway, his ire dissipating somewhat. He frowned slightly at Gwin's look. It was rare enough in the 51st century to find a human empath this powerful, and he could tell both girls were projecting calmness with undertones of sadness. It seemed to be for both his and Ianto's benefit, Jack noted, though Fi was projecting lethargy to Ianto. His archivist's body relaxed centimeter by centimeter, until he was slumped against Fi. She carefully shifted so she could grasp under his arms, and signaled to Gwin to grab his feet.

"Jack, will you give me a hand up here?" She asked softly. Jack blinked, nodded, and moved to help them. Together, they managed to get Ianto upstairs and lying on the couch beneath the tiled TORCHWOOD on the wall. Gwin fetched a blanket—and how did she figure out where they were? He thought only Ianto knew where those kinds of things were kept—before joining Fi and Jack in his office.

"What are you going to do to him?" Fi asked, deciding not to sugar-coat anything. She was determined not to treat Ianto like the rest of the team did—that is, like he was part of the wallpaper. As a consequence, she'd gotten very fond of Ianto, and most people knew not to hurt her friends. Things had gotten…messy in the past.

Jack exhaled heavily. "I'm not going to kill or Retcon him, if that's what you're asking," he hedged. He hadn't decided what he was going to do yet.

"It's not," Gwin spoke sharply. "We're asking if you're going to either foist him off on someone like UNIT—make him someone else's problem—ignore him because you got your feelings hurt, or are you going to try to fix things? Fix _him_?"

Jack bristled. How dare these girls come in and think they could order him around?

Fiona rolled her eyes. "Oh, calm down Harkness. Believe it or not, we are trying to help. If I have my facts right, Ianto Jones could become the most important person in your existence. More important than even the Doctor. And I'm not too concerned that I'm breaking time, because Ianto is important to Torchwood, and to you. If you let him slip through your fingers, everything could be a lot worse off. Now, nobody died tonight, but you're both hurting. If you want to go brood on a roof somewhere, be my guest, just don't hurt him." Her warning delivered, Fiona turned on her heel and exited, going downstairs to sit at Tosh's desk, closest to the couch.

"I hope you make the right choice, Jack. For all our sakes. I'll have Fi call me, or I'll call her, whatever's convenient. Good luck," Gwin said, smiling sadly.

Jack blinked. "Wait, you're leaving?" He had expected her to hang around a little longer.

She nodded. "Yep. Things to do, people to see, places to blow up." She grinned. "I think I've been hanging around Fi too long. That, or I really have been watching too much TV. Have fun, be safe, save the world, fall in love, etcetera, etcetera. Ciao!" Gwin bounced out of his office and down to the main floor of the Hub. She paused to tell Fi she was going, who didn't look surprised. Fi said something that made them both laugh, the girls hugged, and then Gwin hopped on the lift, waving until she was at the surface. Jack shook his head and turned back to the two left in his base. Now, what to do about the young archivist who had betrayed him and was currently out cold on his sofa?

TBC…


End file.
